Gen 13: New Era
by shanejayell
Summary: Ivana Baul calls Kaitlin Fairchild's debt due in a most original way... Complete/Dead.
1. The Date 1

Introduction: This is set during the final 20 issue period of the original Gen 13 series before DC tried to restart the title without the original cast. I'll try to explain references from the series in the story, but if I need to I'll include some information in the author's note afterwards. As my regular readers will expect this story has girl/girl romance, if you don't like that don't continue reading.

Gen 13: The Date (One of Two)

Caitlin Fairchild ran with an easy motion, her golden brown long hair flowing past her shoulders as she pounded down the rough trail. The California sun shone down, the air remarkably clear as she took deep breaths, her shorts and top revealing tanned skin.

'This solo camping trip was a great idea,' Caitlin thought as she returned to her campsite at a gentle walk, 'I really needed to get away from everyone for awhile.'

As the semi-official leader of Gen 13 Caitlin had responsibilities, most of which she had to admit were self imposed. With Mr. Lynch gone and without an adult mentor her sister Roxy, Grunge, Bobby and Sarah were more likely to get into trouble, something Caitlin did her best to watch out for. That kind of never ending vigilance was tiring, though, and when their robot maid Anna suggested this vacation she had leapt at the chance.

'Peace and quiet at last,' Caitlin thought before a low rumble echoed through the forest. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized it, the sound of a mini-jet of some kind. She quietly made her way to the ridge just beyond her tent and froze, the woman standing there instantly familiar.

Caitlin strode from her cover as she grimly asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Is that anyway to greet a friend?" the black haired older woman asked as she looked around the camp. "So charmingly... rustic," she used a leather booted foot to nudge the log that Caitlin had been using to sit on earlier, one that matched the bodysuit she wore.

"You're not a friend Ivana," Caitlin answered dryly as she walked towards her.

"Then it's a poor was to treat someone whom you owe a... favor?" Ivana said with a smirk, looking Caitlin over possesively.

Caitlin felt herself flush with embarrassment under her knowing gaze even as she silently cursed her own foolishness. A few months ago her powers had faded away, leaving herself and her teammates in danger. Deciding her needed to regain those powers she went to the woman who had helped them gain their abilities. Ivana Baul had agreed to restore Caitlin but had demanded that she return the favor at a time and place of her own choosing.

'I guess this is it,' Caitlin thought glumly. "What do you want?" she asked firmly, almost knowing that she'll regret it.

"It's time for you to keep up your end of our little bargain," Ivana confirmed with a smirk, "I need your assistance with a little undercover operation."

Caitlin sighed to herself softly, shaking her head. "Well, let's go get this over with," she muttered resentfully, quickly looking over her camping gear and deciding that it should be fine on it's own. 'I hope,' she thought.

"Let's go," Ivana ordered crisply as she lead the way to the jet, "there's limited time and we need to get you dressed properly."

"Great," Caitlin muttered under her breath as she followed Ivana in, wondering for a moment how someone could get into such a tight leather costume. 'Then again I do wear spandex,' she thought with a self-mocking smile.

"Here, change into this" Ivana passed Caitlin a bundle of clothes even as she turned to instruct the pilot, "let's go."

Caitlin looked around, "Where do I dress?"

Ivana raised an eyebrow even as she smiled. "It's just us women here, dear," she murmured, keeping her eyes on her.

Caitlin grit her teeth at that comment but quickly began peeling off her sweaty clothes. "Then is there at least someplace I can shower this off, first?" she asked, her T-shirt and shorts dropping to the floor to reveal a body shining with a sheen of sweat.

It took Ivana a moment to answer her, almost as if she was mildly distracted by something. "I suppose we can manage that," she agreed and with a press of a button a cubicle shower opened up in the back of the passenger compartment.

"Thanks," Caitlin stripped her bra and panties off and left them with the other clothes. As Caitlin walked to the shower she could almost feel Ivana's eyes on her, watching her. She showered quickly, heated air blowing on her body to try her, then emerged nude to get changed. "That's better," she nodded to Ivana, grabbing the clothes to cover herself.

Ivana had a slight flush to her pale skin but she smiled as she said, "The clothes should fit, I have all your measurements from when I worked on you."

"Thanks for reminding me," Caitlin muttered.

The delicate looking panties slid up her long bare legs, then she took the matching bra and pulled it on. The blue dress pants were loose but a stylish leather belt was there for the waist, the white button up shirt she wore loose and comfortable. Over that she pulled a coat that matched the pants, left flapping open for comfort.

"Very butch," Ivana smirked, "I thought it would suit you."

Caitlin looked down at her clothes a moment before admitting, "Knowing you I was almost expecting black leather."

"It wouldn't have fit where we're going," Ivana answered her calmly as she passed over white socks and black dress shoes along with a black hair clip. She gave Caitlin a sultry smile as she added, "But if you like I could always arrange something later...."

"Oh no," Caitlin quickly shook her head, taking a seat as she pulled on the shoes. "So what's the mission?" she asked, tying her hair back into a simple ponytail.

"You'll find out," Ivana said simply. She got up out of her own chair and then she calmly unzipped her black leather bodysuit, wiggling slim her hips a bit as she slid out of the skin tight outfit and let it drop to the floor.

"What are you going...?" Caitlin squeaked out, instantly noticing that Ivana was completely nude underneath. She wanted to look away but somehow her eyes were drawn to Ivana's body, to the slim but gorgeous looking woman.

Ivana noticed her reaction of course, the impish little smile on her face. "The leather wasn't quite appropriate," she answered Caitlin quite calmly, stepping into a long red dress and pulling it up. She reached around to try and do it up then frowned, not quite able to reach the clasp. "Kaitlin, could you...?" she asked her softly.

Caitlin got up, moving behind Ivana to quickly pull the zipper up. There was a delicate scent around Ivana, a perfume that teased at her nose. "Why are we dressed like this," she asked, "does it have something to do with the mission?"

The pilot's voice came through the cabin as she announced, "We'll be arriving at the target in less than one minute."

Ivana put glittering earrings on then sat down, slipping her high heels on with the ease of long practice. "I have a meeting with certain dangerous people," she said simply, "I need a bodyguard and date, one whom can get me out of a situation if one should arise." Ivana flashed Caitlin a smile, "Naturally I thought of you."

"Naturally," Caitlin echoed.

There was a soft thump as the plane landed, a second later the back hatch opening to reveal a large curling driveway. A mansion stood off in the distance, column's lining the front and windows glowing with merry life. The green lawn stretched out around it, larger than most football fields.

"Wow," Caitlin managed weakly.

Addressing the pilot Ivana said, "I'll signal you in two hours to let you know if we need to be picked up." She turned to Kaitlin, "Well, let's go."

Caitlin offered Ivana her arm, the two stepping out of the plane and onto the pavement. As they walked towards the house she murmured, "I assume I'm to lead?"

"Very good," Ivana said with a smile, "you took your cue from our clothes."

Young men and women were scattered around the busy lane, taking people's cars and driving them into spots, leading people inside and generally attending to the guests needs. Caitlin noted the attentive eyes of the many servants, spotting the occasional bulge of concealed weapons and softly murmured, "Security team?"

"The customers pay for privacy," Ivana smiled and nodded to other guests as they walked up carpeted steps to a front archway, "and they also guarantee the neutrality of this place."

"Welcome," a slight nod and the black suited pretty young man opened the door for them with a gesture, "Ms. Baul, Miss Fairchild." The hallway was lit by golden light, the carpet thick under their feet as they walked.

Caitlin shivered as a odd sensation skittered across her skin. "Security scan," she murmured before whispering, "how did he know our names?"

"She," Ivana corrected with a little smile as they reached the second door, "probably used the exterior security cameras and a database search."

"Should have thought of that," Caitlin sighed.

"Welcome," the handsome young woman waiting at that door nodded to them. She touched a tiny earpiece, "You scan clean of weapons but we're aware of both Ivana's cybernetic enhancements and Kaitlin's Gen-factor abilities, ladies. Any trouble that you cause will be grounds for immediate expulsion, by force if needed."

"I have been here before," Ivana answered her mildly, "I know the rules."

The woman looked at Caitlin thoughtfully and she realized she was expecting a response. "I understand," Caitlin answered, "but if anyone takes a shot at Ivana I will stop them."

"Understood," the door woman nodded slightly, swinging the door open. "Have a good evening," she said with a smile.

"I think she liked hearing that," Ivana said with a smile.

Caitlin felt her cheeks redden but she wasn't quite sure how to respond. They entered the club itself and her eyes widened noticeably. Women packed the place, beautiful ladies dressed in every fashion imaginable, talking, dancing close and clearly showing their affection for each other.

"You're staring," Ivana murmured, sounding quite amused.

"Sorry," Caitlin got herself moving once again. "I think I've heard of a club like this in Japan..." she murmured thoughtfully.

"I understand this club was modeled after it," Ivana noted. A woman slinked through the crowd and she murmured, "Maybe I could have worn the leather."

Caitlin gazed in shock at the leather clad woman, she had thought that Ivana's outfit had been racy but this... The woman had zippers placed over her breasts and groin, buckles and belts binding her into the costume. A matching hood covered the top of her face but her red lips glowed in the light, a tongue slipping out to lick them.

"This place is going to be an education for me, isn't it?" Caitlin muttered as she went by.

Ivana just chuckled wickedly.

To be continued...


	2. The Date 2

Gen 13: The Date (Two of Two)

Ivana Baul fought back a smile as they moved into the nightclub, Caitlin leading the way with a smooth capability. She was a beautiful young woman with that golden brown hair, beautiful body and oddly gentle eyes and Ivana got some pleasure out of just watching her.

"Should we grab a table or mingle?" Caitlin asked as she paused, letting two young woman slink by with their hands possessively on each other's bodies.

"A table," Ivana ordered, "we can wait for my contact there."

Caitlin watched the crowd warily as they continued on, the taller young woman fully into her role of bodyguard and Ivana found herself wondering if this little deception was really such a good idea. Yes, she was meeting certain individuals here but Caitlin's presence wasn't really necessary for this. Instead, she was here simply for Ivana's personal reasons.

'I should know better than to mix business and pleasure,' Ivana thought to herself wryly, 'but the temptation was just too strong for me to resist.' She smiled up at Caitlin as she held out a chair for her and murmured, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Caitlin answered before taking her own seat. She looked over at Ivana as she asked, "So who are we going to be meeting?"

"The daughters of a very conservative Senator and a certain major labor leader," Ivana said to her calmly, "their sexual preference will be very embarrassing if it's publicly revealed, so I expect they'll willingly meet my demands."

"Typical Ivana," Caitlin muttered with a frown.

Ivana looked over at her thoughtfully. "Both young women are being hypocrites," she calmly pointed out, "profiting from their father's power." She finished with, "If they weren't keeping such secrets, I wouldn't have any leverage to use against them."

A clearly troubled Caitlin conceded, "You've got a point."

'The young woman was so charmingly innocent, in some ways,' Ivana mused. Caitlin hadn't even figured out the nasty trick that Ivana had pulled on her, calling due the favor that Caitlin owed her multiple times and then just erasing the girl's memory of it afterward. 'Of course,' Ivana noted, 'it was just such a mission that sparked this mad idea.'

Ivana had needed an invulnerable agent to investigate a potentially dangerous superhuman and she had instantly thought of Caitlin. The uniform that she had equipped Caitlin with had been nearly fetishistic, made of skin tight black leather, and Ivana had been startled by how she had been effected by it. Add that to all the verbal sparring that she and Caitlin had engaged in, nearly flirting as Caitlin investigated the situation and you had a recipe for disaster.

Ivana fought back a surge of amusement as Caitlin blushed fiercely, observing two ladies making out at a table nearby. One of the women was dressed in what looked just like a modified Stormwatch uniform, the other in just bikini top and bottoms. "I'm surprised this bothers you," Ivana noted, "considering your close friendship with Rainmaker."

Caitlin rolled her eyes as she sighed, "Despite what Grunge and Burnout would like to think, we're just friends."

Ivana just had to chuckle at the clear exasperation she heard in Caitlin's voice as she asked, "You get that question a lot, I take it?"

"If it isn't those two hormonally overactive guys," Caitlin sighed, "it's my little sister asking if we're just a little too close."

Ivana suddenly had a vivid mental image of Caitlin and Sarah Rainmaker together, the lovely native American and the amazonian girl and had to smile. "You should try a lesbian experience," Ivana said with a wicked smile, "it can be quite... rewarding."

Caitlin's face went beet red. "You mean you have?" she blurted.

Ivana sat back casually, knowing that the slinky red dress she had chosen highlighted her many charms. "More than once," she conceded then chuckled at a pleasant memory, "Bliss was quite the busy little seductress."

Bliss had been one of the more eager operatives that Ivana had recruited for her team the Deviants, the young beauty quite willing to use her pleasure inducing mental gift. The redhead had dressed in the most scanty clothing, thongs and bikini's, and she had been relentless in her pursuit of Ivana. Of course the older woman understood why Bliss did so, her deep seated lust for power, but she had enjoyed their little tryst none the less.

"I thought that you and Threshold...," Caitlin murmured uncomfortably.

"Him, too," Ivana said quite agreeably. Smiling she picked up her drink, taking a sip before adding, "You could categorize me as a bisexual, I guess." Silently she added, 'But emotionally, I'm much more attracted to women.'

Caitlin looked up, her eyes narrowing as she tracked movement in the crowd around them. Quietly she reported, "Incoming."

Ivana didn't turn around, maintaining a deliberately casual manner as she waited. The brown haired girl lead the way, the redhead following submissively as they reached the table. 'Just like in the bedroom,' Ivana thought to herself amusedly.

"What do you want from us, Baul?" Ms. Tree asked, looking at Ivana with a scowl through her brown bangs.

"Just a simple vote," Ivana said casually, "there's a new law to help restrict the creation of Super Powered Beings coming up, I want some no votes."

"But we don't have that kind of influence," Ms. Hatfield protested, the redhead's voice having as clear whine to it.

"I'm sure you can manage," Ivana paused a moment before adding, "the photo's and video I have would be very embarrassing if they were given to the news media."

Ms. Tree studied Ivana, her brown eyes narrowed slightly. "And what guarantee do we have that this is the only favor you'll ask?" she demanded.

Ivana looked at the girl with a bit more respect in her eyes. "You don't," she said simply, "but doing this for me would certainly help keep you on my good side."

Ms. Hatfield clenched her hands to still their shaking, tears on the corners of her eyes. "I won't be blackmailed," she hissed.

Ivana's eyes widened as the girl pulled the pistol out, her thoughts racing. 'I underestimated her,' she realized as the plastic and ceramic pistol came up aimed right at her face, a weapon designed not to trigger any security systems.

Then Caitlin was there, the pistol roaring even as she threw herself across the table to put herself right between Ivana and the bullets. They hit the carpet with a soft thump, Caitlin looking down with alarm as she demanded fiercely, "Are you all right?"

Ivana looked up at Caitlin dumbly, her eyes wide as she met the younger woman's eyes. "You're beautiful," Ivana murmured.

"What?" Caitlin blinked.

"Never mind," Ivana shook herself, quickly recovering her composure as Caitlin rose then helped her up to her feet, "I'm all right."

The security forces arrived almost as soon as Ms. Hatfield fired her gun, young women in black suits rushing in to subdue both women. Ms. Tree loudly claimed she didn't know anything about it but they just ignored her, whisking the two of them out of the building.

"I don't know how this happened," the leader of the security team said seriously, "but I intend to find out, I assure you." With that she turned and strode away, the set of her shoulders determined.

Ivana turned Caitlin around, smiling wryly at the bullet holes in the suit the girl wore. The flesh underneath was unharmed, of course, but it couldn't hurt to check. "It looks like that lovely body of yours held up pretty well," she finally said with a false sort of casualness, Ivana's hands lingering on the flesh of Caitlin's back.

Caitlin blushed slightly, the taller woman nodding as she said, "Being shot stings but other than that, not bad."

As Ivana stood there she could pick up the warm scent of the other girl, the healthy vitality. She shook herself, moving back a bit as she thought, 'She did what she did because she takes her promises seriously.' A mocking smile, "She hates your guts, remember?"

"I don't hate you," Caitlin answered. As Ivana looked up at her in shock she continued, "You accidentally said that aloud." She gave a wry little smile as Caitlin explained, "I may not like you much, but I don't hate you, either."

"Thank you," Ivana answered, feeling her cheeks flaming as they stood there together. A mad impulse seized her as she looked up into those innocent eyes, "Do you want to dance?"

Caitlin looked down at her searchingly before nodding slightly. They cut away from their table and went out on the dance floor, the taller Caitlin leading as they began to sway together. "You didn't just ask me out to protect you, did you?" Caitlin asked.

Ivana relaxed slightly as Caitlin gently guided them across the floor. "That wasn't the only reason," she admitted, feeling a bit of red to her cheeks. 'I must look like some damn schoolgirl,' she thought to herself irritably.

"I'm not...." Caitlin's cheeks were almost as red as Ivana's as she tried again to say, "I mean, I've never tried...."

Ivana reached up, putting a finger over Caitlin's lips. "It's all right," she softly reassured her, but it wasn't, not really. As they danced she realized that her emotion for Caitlin was stronger than ever, something greater than a simple need. A soft buzz came from her wristband and Ivana scowled, "It's time to go, I think."

"Right," Caitlin looked relieved as they slipped away from the dancers, the tall woman watching over Ivana protectively.

The jet picked them up outside right on cue and they were off, flying across the night sky to eventually reach the campsite. Ivana dropped Caitlin off, lingering in the hatch to look at the young woman, dressed once again in her casual clothes.

"Thank you," Ivana said softly.

Caitlin smiled, "You're welcome."

Ivana closed the hatch, still in her fine dress as she returned to her seat. She used the intercom to order, "Back home, please."

"You're not going to edit her memory?" the pilot asked as the jet rumbled, shaking slightly as it rose up into the air.

"No, not this time," Ivana answered shortly. She looked out the window, down at the quickly disappearing campsite and thought, 'This isn't over, Caitlin Fairchild.'

The End

Authors Notes: I was originally going to have this end with a romantic moment between Ivana and Caitlin, but after some thought I decided it wasn't realistic. Caitlin is very straight, has had a few straight crushes and no crushes on girls. She does have a close friendship with her lesbian teammate Sarah Rainmaker, but it doesn't appear to be romantic.


	3. Christmas in the sun

Gen 13: Christmas in the Sun

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to this," Sarah Rainmaker admitted, her long black hair falling in a silken wave down her back as she continued, "though I do like it." She and Caitlin were leaving the mall with their packages, both of them dressed in just light T-shirts and shorts in the still warm weather.

"It is odd," Caitlin agreed, her golden brown hair tied back simply, "the weather being this comfortable even in winter." She looked over her stuff critically as the taller woman asked, "Do you think we've got everything?"

"Cds for Roxy," Sarah noted, "new shirts for Bobby, Grunge's disgusting swimsuit DVDs, a certain gift for you and I'm certain there's a book in your pile for me."

"You know me too well," Caitlin admitted, the two reaching the car. About half of the stuff went in to the trunk, the rest carefully loaded into the back seat. As usual Caitlin drove, heading back home to their safehouse here in La Jolla, California. She looked at Sarah a moment then looked away, focusing on the road ahead.

"What?" Sarah asked curiously.

"How did you first know you were gay?" Caitlin asked softly.

Sarah blinked at her in surprise, wondering where that question came from. For Caitlin her lesbianism had mostly been a non-issue, unlike her other teammates. Bobby had fantasies of converting her, Grunge had dreamed of threeways and Roxy had been jumpy around her for weeks... but Caitlin had just calmly filed away the information and moved on.

'So if she's asking about this now,' Sarah reasoned, 'it must be important to her.' Aloud she said, "The girlhood crushes that didn't go away was my first hint." With a grin she added, "And I had my first relationship in my teens."

Caitlin puffed out her breath, "Wow. I don't think I've had a serious relationship yet..."

Sarah nodded, feeling a pang of sympathy for her. Caitlin had originally been a computer nerd, a small girl peering out at the world through her round glasses. All that changed when her Gen-factor was triggered and she gained the body of a amazon.. but none of the social skills to deal with it. Add in the fact that most men responded to just her looks, and you had a frustrating situation.

"Can I ask why you're asking?" Sarah asked mildly.

Caitlin blushed faintly as she looked towards the road, not meeting Sarah's eyes. "There's someone I've been getting to know recently," she admitted, "I've begun to think about her in ways that I'm not quite comfortable with."

"I understand," Sarah smiled, despite feeling a bit of regret that Caitlin wasn't talking about her. 'Not that I'm not keeping busy,' she reminded herself, 'it's just that I've had a crush on Caitlin for what feels like forever.' Curiously she asked, "Do we know her?"

"We've met a few times," Caitlin agreed. She eased the car into a turn, "Are you bringing a date for tonight?"

"Well, yes," Sarah smiled, deciding to let her get away with changing the subject this time, "Rebecca Alvarez is in town, we're going to the party together."

"But I thought you were seeing 'Voodoo doll' Sadie, Sarah?" a visibly confused Caitlin asked her curiously.

"I am," Sarah grinned, "we're non-monogamous."

Caitlin made a soft choking noise at that then laughed. "And they don't have a problem with that?" she asked.

Sarah looked thoughtful as she answered, "Sadie.. doesn't want anything serious, in fact she describes us a fuck-buddies." She grinned as Caitlin made those odd noises again, "I think Rebecca is a bit more serious, but she doesn't want me getting too lonely while she's gone."

Caitlin shook her head wryly, "I think I'd be ragingly jealous."

Sarah tilted her head to the side, then nodded slightly. "Maybe so," she agreed, "and I think I'll be breaking it off with Sadie if Rebecca does move here full time."

"Good," Caitlin smiled slightly, "I think Rebecca will be good for you."

The car pulled in to the safe house, a summer bungalow that was financed by all of Mr. Lynch's old 'black project' slush funds. It looked just like any two floor summer house and it matched the neighbor's homes, but underneath the surface it was a little different. The latest in weapons systems protected the place, along with advanced holographic shields to maintain their privacy, all provided by their robotic maid, Anna.

The blonde woman in question smiled as she met them at the carport, looking just like a traditional maid in her black and white uniform, but in reality she was a retired combat robot. "The others are back at the pool," she confided cheerfully, "you can sneak the gifts through the house while I keep them occupied."

"Thanks, Anna," Sarah laughed, watching in awe as Caitlin easily loaded up with heavy items, not even straining as she headed inside.

Caitlin nodded as she quietly added, "Thanks for suggesting we do a Christmas party, Anna. I don't know if we would have even thought about it otherwise..."

Speaking equally softly Anna replied, "I still owe you for saving me from my sisters, it was the least I could do."

Caitlin considered arguing with her that she didn't owe them anything, but decided it would be pointless. Not long ago Anna's crazed robotic 'sisters' had attacked, intent on completing their creators work, and after leading them on a wild chase they fought it out in the old Project Genesis compound. Only Ivana Baul's unexpected assistance had prevented disaster, leaving the group with mixed feelings about their former adversary.

'Especially me,' Caitlin thought as she returned to her room with a stack of gifts, wrapping them quickly and efficiently.

Calling Ivana in to help them had been hard, but even Caitlin had been surprised at how quickly she had responded. She had fought side by side with Caitlin, using a EM Pulse gun against the androids and providing technical skills to disarm the gen-factor bomb. Part of Caitlin wanted to believe that Ivana had just been preserving her investment in the team, but her conscience made her wonder if something else was going on.

Almost as soon as Caitlin hauled out her gifts to add to the pile in the living room Roxy ask, "What'd you get me?" Her little half sister was nearly bouncing with eagerness, her purple streaked hair flowing around her face.

"You'll find out Christmas morning," Caitlin said firmly.

"We aren't even opening up one tonight?" Bobby Lane smiled, the blonde shaking his head as he sighed, "Bummer."

Grunge gave her a puppy dog look, his black hair falling into his eyes, "Please?"

"I wouldn't mind getting one gift tonight," Sarah added with a slight smile.

"All right," Caitlin finally conceded, "but just one gift each." All four of them cheered and Caitlin rolled her eyes.

Anna cooked them up a turkey with all the fixings, and they dug in happily. The guests loved the food and company, including the friends they had made in the superhuman community here not to mention old friends from back east. It was just after Grunge and Tommy were trying to out-macho each other and Sarah and Rebecca were necking on the couch that Caitlin slipped away to the relative quiet of the library.

"Peace and quiet," Caitlin sighed, leaning against the computer desk. Part of her wanted to surf the net, but instead she picked up the phone, dialing a number she had memorized.

"Yes?" the smooth, cool woman's voice asked.

"Ivana?" Caitlin tried not to fidget, "It's Caitlin."

"Well, well," Ivana Baul warmed a bit as she asked, "what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I guess," Caitlin hesitated, "I just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas."

Ivana actually sounded a bit surprised as she answered, "Thank you, you too."

"Ivana..." Caitlin started, only to realize Ivana was a bout to say something more. "Go on," she offered quietly.

"You recall that club we visited?" Ivana waited for Caitlin to agree and carried on, "There's a new years party coming up, and I seem to lack a date."

"And I'll be bodyguarding?" Caitlin asked with a faint smile.

"No," Ivana answered cheerfully, "I intend to take advantage of you, if I can."

"Like that would ever happen," Caitlin scoffed, despite feeling a little thrill at the idea. Not giving herself too much time to think about it she said, "I'd love to go."

"Then I'll pick you up on new years," Ivana laughed and hung up.

Caitlin put the phone down, smiling faintly. She still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but she was confident that whatever happened, it would at least be interesting.

End.

Notes: Here's another story set during Adam Warren's run on Gen 13... Mrs. Alvarez was introduced in that storyline, originally as a government agent and later as a private operator. She and Sarah had a... intense first meeting, one that she teased Sarah about when they met again. Annoyingly the title ended before things could develop between them, but Alvarez certainly seemed interested in Sarah.


	4. Secrets

Gen 13: Secrets

"Caitlin's dating a woman?" Roxy blurted out, looking at Sarah Rainmaker with pure surprise as they stood in the library together.

"Shh," the black haired native American woman hushed her. "I think so," Sarah said, "at least from some of the questions she was asking me."

"You didn't convert her, did you?" Roxy gave her a suspicious look, her short purple streaked hair flowing around her face.

"We don't convert, Roxy," Sarah rolled her eyes as she added wryly, "besides, Caitlin isn't really my type."

Roxy actually blushed a little at that. Early on in their friendship Roxy had put the moves on her, and Roxy had freaked out a bit. They got past it, thankfully, but Roxy had been left with the awareness that Sarah preferred a more feminine sort of girl... like her, for instance.

"I guess that explains where she went out to on New Years Eve, too," Roxy noted, frowning at the memory.

Caitlin had dressed up for New Years Eve and left, resisting every attempt by them to find out where she was going. All she would say to them was that she was going out on a date with an old friend, whatever that might mean. They attempted to follow her but Caitlin had disappeared just before what sounded like a covert mini-jet took off.

Sarah frowned, "You're worried?"

"Yes, I'm worried," Roxy said grimly, "Caitlin is not the best socialized of people, not to mention being way too innocent for her own good. My big sister is tough, but that won't save her from a broken heart."

"Maybe I should ask Rebecca," Sarah mused.

Rebecca Alvarez was a former International Operations agent, once part of the teams who were tasked with capturing Gen 13. It was because of a memorable encounter with Sarah and Gen 13 that Rebecca had eventually sought Sarah out after she left the agency, and after some nervous courting they were currently dating.

"You think it might be a plot by former IO agents?" Roxy asked worriedly. After IO had been disbanded many of the agents went freelance in the intelligence community, and at least some bore a grudge against the team.

"Actually, I thought we could use her help to follow Caitlin and find out what's going on," Sarah said with amusement.

"Oh," Roxy blinked, "okay."

"And I'll make her promise not to invite you into a threesome again," Sarah added with an impish little smile.

"God was that embarrassing," Roxy blushed. "You just had to tell her about that time out by the pool?" she sighed.

"We were discussing coming out," Sarah said with amusement, "and my fondling your butt just came up."

"Sure it did," Roxy rolled her eyes. "Is she in town?"

"Actually, yes," Sarah nodded, "why don't we see if she's in and try to track down Caitlin?"

Roxy nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

Both headed out of the library, rolling their eyes as they saw Bobby doing air guitar by the main stereo system, headphones cutting him off from the world. Bobby Lane, aka Burnout was a diehard rock fan and separating him from the system would be a waste of time.

"Should you tell Grunge where you're going?" Sarah asked.

"He was asleep by the pool last time I checked," Roxy shrugged. They went through the living room and saw Anna cleaning the front entrance way, "Anna, could you tell Grunge that Sarah and I went out?"

"As soon as he wakes up," Anna agreed, the blonde haired robot maid smiling cheerfully. "Do you want me to flip him over before he burns?"

"Flip him into the pool," Sarah suggested impishly.

"Do it," Roxy agreed, "he could use a cool off."

"Have fun," Anna chuckled as she headed out to the pool.

"So what did Grunge do this time?" Sarah asked as they climbed into the car out front.

"What makes you think he did anything?" Roxy asked a bit defensively.

Sarah shook her head, "Don't tell me if you don't want to."

Talking about other things they headed into LA, and out to the office that Rebecca ran her investigation agency out of. She was primarily an information broker rather than a detective, though she did that too, but what made her very effective were the contacts she had in various government and civilian agencies. If she didn't know something she could probably find someone who did, and in probably less than a day.

"Sarah," Rebecca Alvarez looked up with a smile, the blonde setting her paperwork aside, "what's the occasion?"

"Business, I'm sorry to say," Sarah moved to embrace Rebecca in a hug.

"Aww, too bad," Rebecca chuckled teasingly, "I was hoping you brought your old crush here for some fun."

"Old crush?" Roxy blinked, unaware that Sarah had been that interested in her.

"Anyway," Sarah hurried to get past that question, "here's the situation." She quickly related the information about Caitlin and their concern over who she might be dating.

"Are you sure you really want to poke into this?" Rebecca asked. "It is intruding on your friend's life..."

"She's my sister," Roxy said firmly, "and I'm nervous because she's keeping this a secret."

"Besides she's pretty innocent," Sarah added reasonably, "she could be hurt pretty badly. At least we can warn her girlfriend not to hurt her."

"I think your ability to threaten her is going to be pretty difficult," Rebecca said dryly.

"What?" both Roxy and Sarah blurted.

"You know who it is?" Roxy demanded, "How?"

Rebecca smiled wryly, "Because who she's dating is pretty well known in the intelligence community and we all keep a wary eye on her." A sigh, "I nearly did a double take when I saw Caitlin with her in an intel update."

"So who is it?" Sarah asked impatiently.

"Ivana Baul," Rebecca said flatly.

"Tell me you're joking," Roxy said after a stunned moment.

"Sorry, no," Rebecca said with faint regret, "I can even call up photos I was sent of the two of them together."

"It kind of makes sense," Sarah said after a moment.

"You have got to be kidding me," Roxy looked at Sarah, "Ivana hates our guts. She spent years wanting us converted or dissected!"

"Maybe, but one call from Caitlin sent her rushing to the old Genactive Compound to save our hides," Sarah pointed out. "And without her the Anna robots would have probably detonated the Gen-bomb... and killed us all."

"For which she gets my thanks," Rebecca murmured, "since we'd never have hooked up if you'd died there."

"So you seriously think she came rushing to our rescue because she's in love with Caitlin?" Roxy asked, clearly trying to take in the idea.

"Let's see the photos," Sarah suggested.

Opening up her laptop computer Rebecca accessed a image program and began to click on the photos. Ivana looked good in her suit, black hair stylish, and Caitlin clearly looked like she was having a good time at her side. They were dancing in one pic, eating dinner in another and in a third just walking, talking together. The most telling thing was how they looked at each other, almost lost gazing in one another's eyes.

"Looks pretty sincere to me," Rebecca said dryly.

"Yeah it does," Roxy admitted with some reluctance. "What do you think?" she looked over to ask Sarah quietly.

Sarah shrugged slightly, "For now I think we won't do anything... just keep an eye on them."

"Ivana is watched by quite a few intelligence services," Rebecca agreed, "if they're in public I can find out."

"But if Ivana hurts Caitlin, I won't let her get away with it," Roxy said firmly.

"Seconded," Sarah agreed.

To be continued...


	5. Ripples

Gen 13: Ripples

Ivana Baiul frowned as the door to her office exploded inward, the smoke pouring in as the security bots moved in. The best that International Operations onced produced they were big, mean, destroying machines, armored and full of muscle. Sadly it didn't help much, the teens tearing through them like so much tin foil.

"Those were expensive, you know," Ivana noted, the sleek black haired women frowning at the familiar teens and their allies.

Sarah Rainmaker and Roxy Spaulding were on point, followed by Natewith his psionic arms deployed, Voodoo Sadie and several other members of the infamous "Mongolian Barbeque horde" as they whimsically liked to call themselves.

"Are you planning on paying to replace them?" Ivana asked casually.

Roxy looked a little thrown off, but recovered valiantly. "This is a warning, Ivana," she said to her stiffly.

"Oh?" Ivana raised a black eyebrow.

"If you hurt our teammate," Sarah said, the Apache smiled coldly, "this level of damage will look minor."

Ivana's eyes widened just a bit, then narrowed. "I see," she said, a slight smile appearing on her face. "While such concern warms the bottom of my heart," she drawled, "I suspect Caitlin wouldn't be happy knowing you were interfering with her personal life."

"We'll just have to chance that," Roxy answered honestly. She added, "Caitlin's pretty innocent, and I don't want to see her get hurt by someone like you."

"Fair enough," Ivana surprised them by answering, "I don't want to hurt her, either."

"You know, she doesn't sound as uber evil as I thought she would," Leslie noted, the little blonde known as Trauma Queen handing back.

"That's her way of tricking you," Bobby Lane noted, "she acts all nice then unleashes her skanky uber evil on you."

"Skanky?"Leslie blinked.

"She slept with two of her subordinates, Bliss and Threshhold," Bobby revealed.

"Eeww," Leslie made a lace.

"And what are you doing hanging back there?" Sarah asked as Roxy talked to Ivana.

"Hey," Bobby held up his hands, "I'm just here for the moral support."

"Wimp," Sarah sighed.

"Alright," Roxy conceded as her talk with Ivana wound down, "we can't stop you from seeing Caitlin."

"How kind of you to concede that," Ivana drawled, looking at her nails.

"But you'd better not hurt her," Roxy said flatly, "or I'll use my gravity powers to crush you to a pulp." With that she turned around, leading the others out and walking right over the blasted ruins of the doors.

Ivana watched them go then relaxed, walking around her fancy desk and using the intercom to order another door, this time a armored one. Then she called up her security supplier to bawl them out over their bots, then quickly convinced them to send out replacements.

'I suppose I should have expected that,' Ivana admitted to herself as she watched human security guards take up temporary positions outside, 'Gen 13 knows me well enough to doubt I've changed my ways. I'll need to convince them with deeds, not just my word '

Outside the upper floor widow was San Diego, the home base of Gen 13 and recently that of Ivana herself. While she could quote coolly practical reasons why they were now based here, privately Ivana had to confess it was because she wanted to be near Caitlin.

'I'm becoming a softie,' Ivana hid a smile as she listened to the conversations out in the hall, expecting something more to happen.

"Miss, you can't...!" someone yelled.

"Oooww!" another yelped.

Weapons fired, there were more cries and sounds of distress then a security guard raced in, "You should run, ma'am! We can't hold her off."

THOOM! A outer set of doors crashed in and Caitlin Fairchild raced inside, hurrying over to Ivana's side. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Ivana laughed, "I'm fine. How did you find out what they were planning?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes, "I got it out of Grunge." A slight smile teased her lips, "I threatened to hide his porn unless he told me where everyone was going."

"Somehow that does not surprise me," Ivana laughed as she looked up at Caitlin. "You didn't hurt my security much?" she asked.

"Not too much," Caitlin said a slight smile, "I mostly just went over and around them when they tried to slow me down."

Ivana chuckled, "You mean you ran them over."

"Well, that too," Caitlin grinned back, glad to see such humor dancing in the eyes of her formerly serious lover.

Ivana looked up at the taller woman as she said, "I can't get much work done with no doors, so would you like to go have a late lunch with me?"

Caitlin took her and as they both headed past the bemused guards, "Yes, please. Where do you want to go? I'll treat."

"You don't have to..." Ivana frowned.

Caitlin winked, "If only to make up for my friends."

With a laugh Ivana nodded in agreement, the two walking to the elevator as they planned out their evening.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"You told her we went to see Ivana?!" Sarah winced.

"I didn't have any choice," Grunge said, the brown haired young man frowning as he added softly, "she threatened to shred my porn if I didn't."

"Like she'd touch your porn," Bobby rolled his eyes.

Grunge looked defensive, "I couldn't take the chance."

"What's done is done," Nate said dryly as he carried several beer in for them all, "what we have to figure out is what she'll do know."

"Kick our asses?" Voodoo Doll Sadie joked, the slim blonde taking a seat by Bobby along with Leslie.

Sarah looked up to meet Sadie's eyes, something passing between them until she deliberately looked away. "No, she wouldn't do that," she said to them quietly, "but she will be upset with us."

"Hey, I'm not the one who blew the doors off," Roxy said with a shrug.

"Sorry," Bobby looked a bit sheepish, "I was just trying to disable the lock."

"You don't know your own strength," Leslie teased gently.

Bobby blushed, "Hey, yeah..."

Nate looked amused as he drank back some beer, "So, do you have any idea how you want to handle this?"

"We could always lie?" Grunge offered, "Maybe say you guys heard Ivana was going to be kidnapped and you rushed in to save her...?"

"Oh no, bad plan," Sarah said quickly.

"She's right," Roxy agreed, "Caitlin would be really upset by that."

Sadie burped, putting her beer down. "You two really care about her," she noticed.

"Not that way," Roxy swayed a bit, then hiccuped.

Nate gave Sadie a look, "Have you been transferring your drunkenness again?"

Sadie smirked, "Of course."

Sarah huccuped, then glowered drunkenly at Sadie. "You know," she said crossly, "this wasn't even that funny when we were dating."

"I'm hurt," Sadie winked.

"Any way you can take the drunkenness back?" Nate wondered.

"Sorry darling," Sadie laughed, "it's only one way." She reached for another beer, but Nate's glare made her pull back.

"Bobby, we're going to have to..." Nate looked around, not seeing him nearby, "Bobby?"

Grunge chuckled softly. "I think he and Leslie kinda slipped off awhile back," he informed them all mildly.

"Great," Sadie laughed, "looks like we three get to take care of the drunks."

"I am not drunk," Roxy firmly protested even as she began to gently list to the side, "I'm just a bit tipsy."

"Either way," Nate sighed, "let's go."

To be continued...

Notes: Nate and friends were introduced in Adam Warren's run as a semi-organized team in the southern California superhuman scene.


	6. Final

Gen 13: New Era

To the VERY few readers following this story, I have to declare it dead.

Sorry.

I liked Gen 13 when it first came out, then followed the series off and on. When Adam Warren did his 'Grunge the Movie' and 'Magical Drama Queen Roxy' mini's, I was ecstatic, and I LOVED his run on the Gen 13 series. Sadly that was cancelled...

Since then it's had it's ups and down, with Gail Simone's twelve issue run one of the few high points. But with so many reboots and bad writing, my interest in the series has waned to almost nothing. Worse the series has apparently been cancelled for good, with no hints of a return at DC comics.

So thank you to the readers and I;m sorry I've lost all motivation to keep this story going. Let's hope there might be some more good Gen 13 on the horizon.

Shanejayell


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